Conference Report

19 August 2005

AAD

BNP BANNED

Members of the far-right British National Party are to be excluded from membership of ASLEF, conference delegates agreed.

They unanimously backed the decision of the union’s executive to expel BNP election candidate Jay Lee from ASLEF when his membership came to light last month. The executive was authorised to take the same action in future, and to deny membership to any applicant who is a member of the BNP or similar fascist organisations.

General Secretary Mick Rix told delegates that taking this action might put ASLEF in breach of anti-union laws. "So what? I believe they will not dare to carry this law out."

We are sending out a clear message. We are not tolerating fascists and nazis in our membership. We are prepared to break the law on this issue.

Places like Burnley and Oldham are suffering from severe social deprivation, and that is the main cause of fascism and racism in our society, he said.

Doncaster delegate Tosh MacDonald said that ASLEF would be proud to break the law on this issue while Peter Dodgson (Stratford) told of a recent visit he had made to Auschwitz. That is history, he said, but we have got to make sure that it stays history.

The conference also agreed to make a donation of £500 to the Anti-Nazi League.